30-yr fixed6.75%+0.0315-yr fixed6.05%+0.00FHA 30-yr6.55%+0.08VA 30-yr6.38%+0.08Jumbo 30-yr6.82%+0.11Updated September 1, 2026
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Loan type

Self-employed mortgages

If you own a business or work for yourself, lenders read your tax returns differently. There are also loans that use bank statements or assets instead of tax returns.

Compare a conventional and a bank statement loan

Who this is for

  • Business owners, freelancers, contractors and gig workers
  • Anyone whose tax returns understate real cash flow because of write-offs
  • Borrowers with two years of self-employment history (one year is sometimes possible)

How it works, step by step

  1. Conventional and FHA loans use the net income on your returns, averaged over two years, after adding back depreciation.
  2. If write-offs make that number too small, a bank statement loan uses 12 or 24 months of deposits instead.
  3. Asset-based loans qualify you on liquid assets rather than income.
  4. These alternative loans are called Non-QM. They cost more, so compare the true 5- and 10-year cost, not just the rate.

Pros

  • Ways to qualify that ignore aggressive tax write-offs
  • Interest-only and other flexible structures exist
  • Can close when a conventional loan says no

Cons

  • Non-QM rates run higher than conventional, often by one to two points
  • Larger down payments, typically 10% to 20% or more
  • More paperwork: profit and loss statements, business licenses, CPA letters